Turning around, he strode out into the balcony and glanced up at skies that were unfamiliar only to him and his subjects.
They thought his world was dark, Hades mused, and yet it was this human world that was blacker, this human world that was so flawed and so steep in sin that it made the air smell rotten.
“Milord!”
It was Thanatos, and Hades immediately turned, alerted by the ominous note in his second-in-command’s voice. “What is it?”
“Something inexplicable has shown up at the entrance of our world.”
“Show me.”
“Yes, milord.” Thanatos ripped the air around him like it was a piece of canvas, and a moment later Hades saw the entrance to his world, where the rest of his powerful sentries still stood guard.
“Above the gates, my king. Do you see it?”
Following Thanatos’ line of gaze, Hades started when he saw a doorway of some kind blazing above the gates of the Underworld. “I have not seen anything like this in my life.” He stretched his arm and with a wave of his hand, he drew the scene closer to him so that this time the doorway would be right above his head.
“Could it be human sorcery?” Thanatos asked grimly.
“Perhaps, but somehow this door feels much...stronger than anything a mere mortal could make.”
Before Thanatos could speak, Hypnos had come to join them in the balcony. “What’s happening?” Having sensed the winged demon’s presence, Hypnos knew that only the direst of circumstances could have compelled Thanatos to leave the Underworld.
Looking up, Hypnos almost took a step back when he saw the doorway right above the king’s head. “What is that?” Immortals moved freely from one world to another, but they did so without the use of portals—-
And that door looked exactly like what a portal would be, Hypnos thought with a frown, if such a thing existed.
Then he noticed something else.
“Milord, the door is opening!”
Hades stiffened.
“Stay back, milord!” Thanatos growled.
But it was too late.
The door was opened, and the sound of a feminine cry reached them.
Hades tensed.
Did that woman truly need his help or was she but a bait for a trap devised by powerful humans?
The answer to this fell on the Lord of the Underworld, literally, as the next thing Hades knew, a woman was thrown out of the door in the sky—-
Her ear-splitting cry made them wince and had everyone inside the temple running to the balcony.
Hades fell into the floor as she landed atop of him with enough force to make him suck his breath.
The woman quickly pushed herself up, her hands planted on his chest, and a dazed look on her pale face.
In the fraction of a second, two swords were pointed straight at her throat, with neither Hypnos nor Thanatos willing to underestimate any threat to their king.
Hades looked up into the bright blue eyes staring down at him with seemingly innocent confusion.
Who the fuck was she?
But before he could ask the pertinent questions, someone in the crowd started to clap.
“What are you doing,” Hades heard the god of light hiss under his breath.
“I can’t believe none of you are thinking what I’m thinking.” Hermes’ answering laughter held the usual note of amiable malice that was expected from the god of mischief.
“Stop speaking in riddles—-”
“I will, if you start thinking in them,” Hermes returned with laconic ease. Pointing to the girl still lying frozen atop the lord of the world, he quoted, “The lord would fall because of her.”
The crowd gasped, having recognized the words.
The two guards drew their swords back.
Hades whitened. Impossible. It was impossible. When had a prophecy ever been so literal?
And yet—-
He, the Lord of the Underworld, had fallen because of her.
When Thanatos and Hypnos saw the look in their lord’s eyes, the two sentries immediately dropped down on one knee as a sign of respect for their prophesied queen.
At this, the lower-ranking immortals in their midst fell on one knee as well, hoping to gain favor with the Lord of the Underworld.
When the girl saw everyone kneeling, she quickly scrambled off him—-
Hades’ jaw clenched when she squirmed against his erection. Dammit, was this girl trying to seduce him in public? Feeling his erection press noticeably against his pants, Hades bit back a curse and swiftly rose to his feet. He turned his back on the crowd, hoping no one had caught sight of it.
Hermes and Apollo glanced at each other, both of them having noticed the Lord of the Underworld’s reaction to the girl.
Hermes had only meant to joke about the prophecy but maybe there was more truth to it than he had originally seen.
When Hades turned to face the girl again, he was stunned to find her on bended knee as well. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked in exasperation.
“B-because they knelt down, so I thought—-” She gazed up at him, bewildered. “Shouldn’t I?”